Tamil Nadu bags National award in water management

Context: Recently, Ministry of Jal Shakti is organising the 2ndNational Water Awards (NWAs) 2019 Distribution Ceremony on 11th& 12th November, 2020.

Key Points

• Tamil Nadu has bagged the first place under the ‘Best State’ category under the National Water Awards (NWAs) 2019, presented by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• Tamil Nadu also bagged awards under the Best District category in the South. Vellore and Karur districts were awarded first and second spots respectively under the ‘Revival of River’ sub-category.
• Tamil Nadu was followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan as the best states under the normal category.
• The National Water Awards 2019 are presented in 16 categories including Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Research/ Innovation/ New Technology and Best Education among others, and each of the categories has sub-categories in different zones of the country.

Background

• The Ground Water Augmentation Awards and National Water Award were launched in the year 2007 with an objective to encourage all stakeholder .
• This including the NGOs, Gram Panchayats, ULB’s, Water User Associations, Institutions, Corporate Sector, Individuals etc. for adopting innovative practices of ground water augmentation .
• Since Ground water has become integral part of the water cycle, last year unified National Water Awards were given for holistic approach towards water resources management in the country.

Need for Water Conservation

• Water is one of the vital components of life.
• The rapid pace of irrigation growth, urbanization & industrialization has put enormous stress on water resources.
• Cumulative impact of increase in use of this precious natural resource has led to water scarcity in many regions of the country.
• Moreover, the climate change has resulted in change in hydrologic cycle in the country.
• Hence, it is necessary that this scarce resource is protected by effective and efficient management on sound scientific methodology for its sustainable development.

About the Award

• “The award will be presented during the second National Water Awards 2019 distribution ceremony scheduled on November 11 and 12 through a virtual platform.
• The awards are given to motivate the individuals/organizations who are doing commendable work in the field of water resources conservation and management.
• Also, it strives to create awareness among the people about importance of water and motivate them to adopt the best water usage practices.
• The event is an occasion for all people and organisations to further cement a strong partnership in water resources conservation and management activities.

FOCUS: The NWAs focuses on the good work and efforts made by individual and organisations across the country, and the government’s vision for the path to a ‘JalSamridh Bharat’.

• The event provides a good opportunity to start-ups as well as leading organisations to engage and deliberate with senior policymakers.
• The event also presents an opportunity to discuss on how to further accelerate the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ in India.

APPROACH

• Rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge
• Promoting water use efficiency
• Recycling & re-use of water
• Creating awareness through people’s participation in the targeted areas
• Adequate capacity building amongst the stakeholders etc.

AWARD CATEGORIES

• Within the Best District category, three awards each will be given in North, South, East, West, North- East.
• At the district level, the entries could be submitted on three important themes of Ground Water Recharge, Revival of River and Rejuvenation/Creation of Water Bodies like lakes/ponds etc.

PRIZE

• The award winners in different categories will be given a citation, trophy and cash prize. 
• Cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh, Rs. 1.5 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh for Ist, IInd and IIIrd prize winners respectively will be given for all remaining 11 categories.
• Apart from this Best State and Best District awards will be given seperately.